Summaries of Officers Assaulted
Note: For 2016, the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program received reports of 83 officers who were injured as a result of assaults with firearms or knives/other cutting instruments. The following are summaries of selected incidents in which officers survived injuries from such assaults.
AR | AZ | CA | GA | MI | NE | NV | NY | OK | PA | TX | VA
Arkansas
On January 9 around 10 p.m., a 39-year-old patrol officer with the Little Rock Police Department (LRPD) was wounded during a robbery in progress. The officer, a 9-year law enforcement veteran, was off duty but was wearing his police uniform as he worked in a security role at a local restaurant. The officer was eating in the bar area out of view of the front door, when three men, their faces partially covered by their jacket hoods, entered the restaurant. One of the men pointed a .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun at the customers in the lobby area and ordered the restaurant manager to take him to the safe. The other two suspects did not appear to be armed, but began to grab other employees and force them to the back of the restaurant. A customer alerted the officer, who stood up and drew his firearm. The armed suspect saw the officer and fired one round, striking the officer in the front upper torso/chest above his body armor. The armed suspect and another suspect fled toward the front door with the victim officer in pursuit. When the victim officer reached the foyer, he fired several rounds at the two suspects as they neared the front door. The victim officer pursued the two men out into the parking lot where he fired additional rounds at the armed suspect. The suspects crossed the parking lot then split up and ran in different directions, so the victim officer ceased firing. The victim officer never saw the third suspect, and it is not known how he exited the building. The victim officer reloaded his service weapon and returned to the restaurant where he checked the employees and customers for injuries. He assessed the restaurant for remaining threats, then radioed the LRPD and advised that the restaurant had been robbed and shots had been fired. He described the two suspects, provided information on their last known directions of travel, and reported he had been wounded and needed assistance. Backup LRPD officers arrived and secured the crime scene. Emergency services transported the wounded officer to a nearby medical center for treatment. He was released the next afternoon and has returned to duty. The three suspects were all identified and located through civilian tips, interrogation, and self-confessions provided during the investigation. The unarmed suspect who fled the restaurant through the front door was located on January 9 when LRPD officers responded to an emergency call at a residence. The suspect had sustained a gunshot wound to the buttocks and explained he had been shot during a dispute over a woman. After further investigation, officers determined the suspect had participated in the robbery at the restaurant and had been shot by the victim officer. The man was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for his wound. He was released from the hospital on January 18 and subsequently arrested. The man was charged with Aggravated Robbery, Criminal Attempt to Commit Capital Murder, First-Degree Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, and six counts of Aggravated Assault. Officers located the armed suspect, a 20-year-old who had a prior criminal record, on January 10. He was arrested and charged with Criminal Attempt to Commit Capital Murder, Aggravated Robbery, six counts of Aggravated Assault, and First-Degree Battery. The suspect who exited the building without being seen was arrested on January 11. After a civilian tip, he was located at a residence, and officers deployed tear gas to prompt his exit. He was charged with Aggravated Robbery, Criminal Attempt to Commit Capital Murder, First-Degree Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, and six counts of Aggravated Assault.
Arizona
A 57-year-old detective with the Kingman Police Department was wounded during a tactical situation around 9:45 a.m. on September 29. The 17-year veteran of law enforcement was among a group of detectives serving a search warrant at the residence of a man who was being investigated regarding a stolen firearm. The detectives were confronted by the subject at the front door of his residence. He was armed with a .38-caliber revolver at his right side, and detectives ordered the man to drop his weapon. The man refused and replied several times, “Shoot me . . . just shoot me.” After about 30 seconds, the man raised his firearm in the direction of the detectives and fired four rounds. Two of the detectives returned fire, striking the 53-year-old suspect four times and killing him instantly. One of the detectives was shot at close range in the front upper torso/chest and also in the arms/hands. The victim detective was wearing body armor, but a round entered through the armhole or shoulder area of the vest. He has since recovered from his wounds and has returned to duty. The suspect had a prior criminal record including a violent crime and drug law violation. He was also a known drug dealer and user.
*****
Just after 2 a.m. on May 7, a deputy sheriff with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department was injured in an ambush (entrapment and premeditation) incident in Tempe. The 38-year-old deputy, who had more than 4 years of law enforcement experience, was participating in a task force addressing driving under the influence (DUI). While out with the task force, he saw a motorist commit a traffic infraction. The deputy activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop. The deputy, who was wearing body armor, made contact with the occupants of the vehicle and returned to his unmarked patrol unit to conduct a records check. He exited his patrol unit, and as he was approaching the suspect vehicle again, he heard gunshots and felt pain in his leg. Two rounds from a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle struck the victim deputy in the rear below his waist. As he took cover behind his patrol unit, he looked in the direction of where the shots were fired and saw a moving vehicle, but was unable to get a license plate number. He radioed to dispatchers he had been shot and needed assistance. While responding officers were en route, the injured deputy placed a tourniquet on his leg to slow the bleeding. The victim deputy was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. An investigation led to a 51-year-old suspect. On May 10, detectives went to the suspect’s residence where he asked the officers to go inside with him to continue the conversation. Officers followed the suspect down a hallway to a bedroom. As soon as the suspect entered the bedroom, he picked up a .308-caliber rifle, and turned it on himself. He fired one round into his head, instantly killing himself. Officers conducted a search warrant of the residence and found a weapon matching the caliber of the weapon used to shoot the victim deputy and documentation from a DUI arrest the suspect had received on May 6, just a few hours before the incident. The suspect, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time he shot the victim deputy, had a prior criminal record. The injured deputy recovered from his injuries and has returned to duty.
California
On the morning of January 12, a 24-year-old officer with the San Bernardino Police Department was assaulted and injured while responding to a traffic pursuit. The officer, with 2 years of law enforcement experience, responded to assist another officer who was attempting to pull over a vehicle that did not signal before a turn. The driver would not yield, and a 3-mile chase ensued. During the pursuit, a license plate check revealed the vehicle had been reported stolen. The suspect stopped the vehicle and fled on foot through the backyard of a residence, throwing a handgun aside as he ran. The officers chased the suspect until the assisting officer tackled him. The suspect refused to surrender or follow verbal commands and repeatedly struck the assisting officer with his fists. At one point, the suspect stabbed the victim officer, who was wearing body armor, in the arms/hands with a cutting instrument (scissors). The officers then administered empty-hand techniques to control the suspect, who was finally subdued and taken into custody. The 28-year-old suspect, who was on parole and had a prior criminal record , including a violent crime, weapons violation, and drug law violation, was charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Law Enforcement Officer, Grand Theft Auto, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Felony Evading.
*****
Just after 11 p.m. on July 25, a 34-year-old Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer was shot while investigating a suspicious person. The 7-year veteran officer was patrolling on foot with his partner when they encountered a group of young men loitering around a park bench. One of the men, armed with a handgun, took off running through the neighborhood. The officers initiated a foot pursuit, and in the course of the chase, gunfire was exchanged. One of the officers, who was wearing body armor, was shot in the arm by a round from the suspect’s 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. A second LAPD cruiser arrived on the scene, and two more officers joined the exchange of gunfire. The 18-year-old suspect, who was on probation at the time of the incident, continued to point his weapon at officers and was subsequently shot and killed by the officers. The wounded officer has since returned to duty.
Georgia
A Valdosta Police Department patrol officer was ambushed (entrapment and premeditation) while responding to a call at 8:13 a.m. on July 8. The 50-year-old officer, a veteran of law enforcement with 10½ years of experience, responded to a call for service at an apartment complex regarding a burglarized vehicle. The officer arrived, met the vehicle owner, and spoke to him briefly. The man turned to walk away, as if to show the officer the location of the vehicle, but quickly turned and shot three rounds at the officer with a .38-caliber revolver. The officer was struck twice. One round hit the body armor he was wearing and another round entered below the armor striking him in the front lower torso/stomach area. As the man fired, the officer removed his firearm from its holster and took cover behind a vehicle in the parking lot. The man retreated, as if to also seek cover. The officer fired three rounds from his service weapon. One round struck the man in the head and he fell to the ground. The officer then radioed he had been shot, and other law enforcement officers responded to his location. The wounded officer and the responding officer handcuffed the 22-year-old offender. On July 15, the offender was charged with three counts of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, and Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder. He had a prior arrest for a violent crime. At the time of this publication, the injured officer had not returned to duty.
Michigan
Around 11:45 a.m. on February 19, a 48-year-old police officer with the Bay City Department of Public Safety (BCDPS) was shot and wounded while assisting in a tactical situation. Earlier that morning, a BCDPS task force learned a subject had violated his conditional release bond the previous day. Around 10 a.m., three BCDPS officers in unmarked vehicles began physical surveillance of the suspect’s residence. At approximately 10:30 a.m., the suspect came outside the residence to greet a male visitor. The man and the suspect both entered the residence. Slightly more than an hour later, the officers saw the man and the suspect leave the residence. Both men got into their vehicles, the man drove away first, and seconds later the suspect followed. Both vehicles turned onto another street, where a uniformed BCDPS officer in a fully marked patrol unit was positioned to enact a traffic stop on the suspect. One of the plainclothes officers joined the uniformed officer at the side of the road, where the uniformed officer ordered the suspect to exit his vehicle. However, the suspect disregarded the order and sped away. The two officers ran back to the marked patrol unit, and a vehicle chase ensued. The officer in the passenger’s seat notified dispatch of the pursuit, as the suspect led the officers back to his residence. The suspect parked his vehicle in his driveway, jumped out, and ran toward a basement window on the north side of the house. The plainclothes officer exited the patrol unit and continued the chase on foot. When the suspect reached the basement window, he broke the glass and attempted to dive inside. However, he got stuck halfway through the opening with his right arm and right leg still outside the window. The officer grabbed the suspect’s arm and attempted to pull him back outside. During the struggle, the uniformed officer arrived to assist. When the suspect’s arm slipped from the plainclothes officer’s grasp, the suspect fell into the basement, and the officer stumbled backward. The uniformed officer covered the window and ordered the suspect to come out. The plainclothes officer then ran back to the patrol unit, which was parked in the driveway, to turn off the vehicle’s siren. As he was running, he heard a single gunshot coming from the basement. After turning off the siren and starting back toward the basement window, the officer heard several more gunshots coming from the west side of the residence. He took cover at the corner of the street and saw that the uniformed officer had taken cover behind the front wheel located on the driver’s side of the patrol unit. He then noticed another one of the plainclothes officers had arrived to assist and had been struck in the rear lower torso/back with a round from the suspect’s 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. The wounded police officer, a veteran of law enforcement with more than 22 years of experience, had taken cover behind the rear wheel located on the driver’s side of his unmarked vehicle. Both the uniformed officer and the wounded plainclothes officer were trapped behind their vehicles with no escape routes from the suspect who had barricaded himself inside the residence. At that time, four additional BCDPS officers arrived on the scene. The initial plainclothes officer obtained a department-issued AR-15 rifle from the arriving officers and positioned himself to cover the officers who were still unable to move from their locations. Officers from other local agencies and the Michigan State Police Emergency Support Team also responded to assist. The suspect committed suicide several hours later. The 38-year-old man, who was known by law enforcement to deal drugs, had a prior criminal record including charges for a police assault, weapons violation, and drug law violation. The victim officer was treated at a nearby hospital for his injury and has since returned to duty.
Nebraska
At 11:45 a.m. on March 21, a 47-year-old veteran patrol officer with the Omaha Police Department, who had 25 years of law enforcement experience, was assaulted by a man with a knife during a drug-related situation. Earlier, a man whose vehicle was being impounded in front of his residence confronted an officer who was completing the impound report and waiting for a tow truck. When the man engaged the officer in a verbal disagreement, the officer advised him to go back inside his residence. After the suspect went inside, the officer observed that a baggie appearing to contain methamphetamine had fallen out of the man’s pocket and was lying on the ground. The officer then advised the dispatcher to send additional officers. When additional officers arrived, the man came out of his residence and began yelling at them. The officers, one of whom was the 47-year-old veteran officer, went to speak to the man and arrest him for the suspected narcotics which had fallen from his pocket. However, the man ran into his residence and officers followed. As the officers attempted to arrest him, he resisted and produced a kitchen knife. A struggle ensued, during which the suspect cut the veteran officer on his gloved hand (the knife penetrated the glove). Another officer used an electronic control weapon to subdue the suspect, and the suspect was taken into custody. The 32-year-old suspect, who had a prior criminal record and was under the influence of narcotics at the time of incident, was arrested and charged with Second-Degree Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Use of Weapon to Commit a Felony, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. The victim officer sustained a minor puncture/laceration to his hand and finger and was treated at the scene by medics. He has since returned to duty.
Nevada
A deputy sheriff with the Storey County Sheriff’s Office was injured while handling a person with a mental illness on January 2 just before 4:30 p.m. in Virginia City Highlands. The 44-year-old deputy, who had more than 1 year of law enforcement experience, responded to a call of a suicidal subject with a knife. The deputy radioed for backup, parked his patrol unit, and approached the residence on foot because of heavy snow. As the deputy neared the residence, he heard an argument from within the house. When he knocked on the door of the residence and announced himself, the deputy heard a man inside the house making violent threats toward him. The deputy convinced the subject’s wife to exit the house; however, she came outside barefoot and, due to the deep snow, was forced to remain near the house. As he approached the wife, the deputy heard the sound of a bolt being racked in a rifle. Then, from within the house, the subject announced he was going to kill the deputy. Without further warning, the suspect fired 13 rounds at the deputy with a 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle from a first-floor window. One round struck the deputy, who was wearing body armor, in the rear lower torso/back and knocked him to the ground; however, his protective vest prevented a potentially lethal injury. The suspect’s wife, who was standing near the deputy, was struck in the left leg by bullet fragments. The victim deputy regained his footing and fired six rounds from his service weapon into the window where the suspect had been shooting. The deputy then repositioned himself near the rear of the residence. Several minutes later, the suspect, wounded in his right arm and upper torso by flying glass, gave up and exited the house. As the deputy approached, the suspect once again became aggressive, and the deputy used his electronic control weapon twice to immobilize the suspect. The deputy handcuffed the suspect and took him into custody. The 51-year-old suspect, who had a prior criminal record including a drug law violation, was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. He was arrested and charged with Attempted Homicide, Battery with a Deadly Weapon Causing Injury, Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm, and Domestic Battery. The victim deputy has since recovered from his injury and returned to duty.
*****
Shortly after 10 p.m. on February 25, a 32-year-old deputy sheriff with the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office was shot and wounded while responding to a robbery in progress in Silver Springs. Around 9:30 p.m., the veteran deputy, who had nearly 9 years of law enforcement experience, parked his marked patrol unit near a local casino to watch for a vehicle that had been reported as stolen at gunpoint by five males in a nearby town about an hour earlier. The deputy noticed a vehicle matching the description of the stolen vehicle pulling into the casino’s parking lot. Using binoculars, the deputy watched four or five male subjects exit the vehicle and saw two or three of the subjects enter the casino. The deputy drove his patrol unit to the casino parking lot and parked behind the suspected stolen vehicle. He checked the vehicle’s license plate number with dispatch and confirmed the vehicle was in fact stolen. The deputy noticed two of the male subjects standing beside the vehicle and radioed for backup. The deputy exited his patrol unit with his service weapon drawn and shouted multiple times for the subjects to put their hands up. The subjects disregarded the deputy’s commands, turned toward each other, and continued talking. Suddenly, one of the subjects produced a .38-caliber revolver and fired three rounds at the deputy. One of the rounds struck the victim deputy, who was wearing body armor, in his arms/hands. The victim deputy took cover behind his patrol unit and, a short time later, relocated to a new position of cover beside his vehicle. From there, he observed the suspects crouching beside the stolen vehicle. The deputy emerged and fired seven rounds from his service weapon toward the armed suspect. The armed suspect fell to the ground, as the second suspect fled a short distance on foot, then also fell to the ground. As he reloaded his service weapon, the victim deputy notified dispatch that shots had been fired. He informed dispatch two suspects were down and he himself had been hit. The armed suspect, who was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the incident, then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. With the armed suspect no longer a threat, the victim deputy advanced to the second suspect and placed him in handcuffs. The 19-year-old deceased suspect had a prior criminal record including a violent crime. The wounded deputy recovered from his injuries and has returned to duty.
New York
On April 10 around 11:30 a.m., a Rotterdam Police Department (RPD) patrol officer was assaulted while responding to a call concerning a man with a mental illness. The 43-year-old officer, a veteran with 18 years of law enforcement experience, and a sergeant also with the RPD were dispatched to check the welfare of a mentally ill man. The man’s mother called and said her son was damaging property inside her residence. The man was a military veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had not been taking his medication. Due to the nature of the call, the sergeant requested a Schenectady County Sheriff’s unit also be dispatched. The three officers arrived and spoke with the man’s mother outside of the residence before attempting to contact the man. The mother stated her son had a knife in each hand and was making stabbing motions at her. As the three officers approached the residence, the sergeant and the sheriff’s deputy had their electronic control weapons (ECWs) drawn. The officer also had his service weapon ready. The sergeant called for the man to come out from the front doorway. After receiving no response, the sergeant entered and began searching for the man, calling to him throughout the residence. The sergeant and the officer located the man in a first floor bedroom hiding behind a door. The sergeant noticed a knife on a dresser inside the room. He reached in, grabbed the knife, and threw it down the hallway. The officer called out for the man to drop any weapons he had, but he verbally refused. The sergeant pushed open the door, pinning the man between the door and the wall. The officer continued to order him to drop any weapons and come out. The man then pushed the door, knocking the sergeant backward into the hallway, almost completely closing the door. Then, with a knife in his hand, the man forced open the door and stabbed at the sergeant. The sergeant deployed his ECW, but it had no effect. (It was later determined only one probe struck the man.) The man then turned to the officer and began stabbing at him, striking him in the rear of his head with the knife blade, leaving a 5-inch laceration which later required stitches. The victim officer fired three rounds at the man. One round struck him in the head and a second round struck him in the chest, rendering him incapacitated as he fell to the floor. The sergeant, who was not injured, began chest compressions on the assailant as the victim officer called for an ambulance which was staged in the area. The 30-year-old man, who has a prior criminal record, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Oklahoma
On December 8 around 9:30 p.m., a 53-year-old Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD) sergeant was assaulted during a traffic stop. The veteran sergeant, with nearly 18 years of law enforcement experience, stopped a vehicle after the driver committed a traffic violation. The man driving the vehicle was a known local gang member. The sergeant approached the vehicle and realized the driver was using his cell phone, telling someone he had been stopped by the police and was giving his current location. During the course of the traffic stop, the sergeant returned to his police unit and was headed back to the man’s vehicle when he heard gunshots and realized the rounds were directed toward him. Four officers who had just arrived on the scene took cover behind their vehicles. They saw a person running from the location of the gunfire, through a field, toward a nearby apartment complex. The sergeant, who was wearing body armor, felt a burning sensation and realized he had been wounded in his arms/hands when a round from a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun grazed his wrist. He then located a spent projectile in his jacket pocket. The offender discharged a total of six rounds, two of which struck a police vehicle. A search was conducted, but the shooter was not apprehended. A firearm and spent shell casings were collected along with other evidence. Further investigation determined the driver of the stopped vehicle had been talking on the cell phone with another gang member. Subsequent interviews revealed three known gang members were in a nearby apartment at the time of the incident. OCPD officers arrested two gang members on December 12. A 27-year-old gang member was charged with five counts of Shooting with the Intent to Kill. He had a criminal history including a violent crime, drug law violation, and weapons violation, and was on supervised probation at the time of the incident. Details regarding the second arrest were not available at the time this incident was reported to the FBI. The injured sergeant has returned to duty.
Pennsylvania
A 33-year-old police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department was shot and injured in an ambush (premeditation and entrapment) around 11:40 p.m. on January 7. The veteran officer, who had 5 years of law enforcement experience at the time of the incident, was on patrol when a man wearing a long white garment approached his vehicle and fired 12 rounds from a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in his direction at close range. The officer, who was wearing body armor, stopped his vehicle and exited. He then exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The victim officer was struck three times in the arms/hands. Two officers, who were also on patrol nearby, responded to the gunshots. They saw the officer exchanging gunfire with the suspect, who ran off and appeared to be removing the white garment as he ran. The officers followed in their vehicle, shouting out to the man to stop and get on the ground. The suspect complied, lying on the ground with his arms outstretched in front of him. Officers exited their vehicle and placed the man under arrest. One of the officers located a firearm wrapped in a white garment not far from the scene. The 30-year-old suspect was taken to a local hospital and treated for wounds he received in the exchange of gunfire with the victim officer. He was charged with Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Firearms Law Violation-Former Convict, and Firearms Law Violation-No License. His prior criminal record included a violent crime and weapons violation; he was on probation at the time of the incident. The victim officer was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for his wounds. As of the time of this report, the officer had not returned to duty.
Texas
At 10:37 p.m. on June 23, a deputy sheriff with the Comal County Sheriff’s Office was shot while handling a person with a mental illness in Bulverde. The deputy, who had more than 4 years of law enforcement experience, responded to a residence where a man reportedly had a firearm and was suicidal. The caller was a family member and said he believed the man intended to attempt “suicide by cop.” When the 35-year-old deputy, along with three officers from the Bulverde Police Department (BPD), pulled up to the residence, they saw a man walking around with a firearm in his hand. The deputy and officers drew their weapons and ordered the man several times to put down the weapon, telling him they were there to help. The man walked into the street in front of the deputy’s patrol unit and began to walk toward the vehicle with the firearm in his hands. He then raised his arms and fired the .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun at the officers. The deputy returned fire with his rifle. One round from the assailant’s weapon struck the deputy, who was wearing body armor, in the front lower torso/stomach below his body armor. The victim deputy took cover at the back of his patrol unit, and he and responding BPD officers continued to return fire, striking the suspect several times. The victim deputy was taken by ambulance, then by helicopter, to a hospital for treatment. The deputy recovered from his injuries and has since returned to duty. The 22-year-old suspect, who also was taken to a hospital, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault Against a Law Enforcement Officer.
*****
Just before 7 p.m. on January 2, a 49-year-old sergeant with the Denton Police Department was assaulted while handling a person with a mental illness. The 20-year veteran sergeant was one of three officers who were dispatched to a local hotel to deal with a 911 caller who was incoherent and agitated, using methamphetamine, and armed with a knife which had a blade approximately 3 to 4 inches long. The caller repeatedly told dispatchers he had “committed crimes and hurt people.” The officers, who obtained a room key from management, spent some time speaking with the subject and trying to get him to open the door. A fourth officer, who was certified to use an electronic control weapon (ECW) arrived on the scene. When all attempts to get the man to come out of the room failed, the officers prepared to use the master key and a two-prong fork tool to disable the swing arm deadbolt lock. The door was unlocked, and the sergeant, who was wearing body armor, was operating the two-prong fork tool on the deadbolt when the subject thrust the knife through the narrow opening, striking the sergeant in the arms/hands. The fourth officer deployed the ECW on the suspect’s hand, and though only one prong hit, it was enough to cause the suspect to drop the knife. The officers forced the door open, and a second burst from the ECW made contact with the suspect’s chest. Officers were able to subdue and handcuff him. The 38-year-old suspect was taken to the city jail where he was placed in a restraint chair and incarcerated. The suspect, who had no reported prior criminal history, said he had been doing methamphetamine since the day before. The injured sergeant returned to duty after this incident.
*****
A 33-year-old Baytown Police Department officer, a veteran with nearly 10 years of experience in law enforcement, was injured while responding to a robbery in progress shortly before 7:30 a.m. on April 11. As an employee at a check-cashing business was preparing to open the front door, a man approached, pointed a firearm at her, and ordered her to let him inside. As she opened the door, the employee pushed a portable panic button she was carrying. Once inside the business, the offender forced her to open interior doors, providing the employee an opportunity to enter a distress code into the alarm system. He restrained her with zip ties and told her to open the safe. When she hesitated, the offender sprayed her with gasoline and threatened to set her on fire. A second offender arrived at the door, and when the first offender had her open the door for him, she grabbed the keys to her vehicle, rushed outside, and tried to enter her vehicle as the two men attacked her. The officer arrived on the scene, and the employee broke free from her attackers and ran toward the officer, who was exiting his patrol unit. The two offenders began firing their weapons, one of which was a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, with many of the 15 rounds striking the officer’s vehicle and shattering the window and windshield. The officer, who was wearing body armor, was injured on the front and side of his head by shards of glass. The officer and the employee moved to the rear of the patrol unit, and the officer returned fire. A round struck one of the offenders in the leg, and he fell to the ground. The other offender tried to pull the wounded offender away, but was unable to do so and fled the scene on foot. Other officers arrived and took the 47-year-old wounded offender into custody. The wounded offender, who had a prior criminal record including charges for a violent crime, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant and Aggravated Robbery. The offender who fled discarded his outer clothing, handgun, and a two-way radio nearby. At the time this incident was reported to the FBI, the second offender had not been captured. The injured officer has returned to duty.
Virginia
On April 26 at 6:30 p.m., a 30-year-old deputy sheriff with the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office sustained a gunshot wound while responding to a domestic call in Chatham. The deputy, who had more than two years of law enforcement experience, and another deputy responded to a call from a man who stated his son shot his cell phone. The man explained he was currently located outside his residence, and his armed son was inside the home. While en route to the scene, dispatch alerted the deputies the son had fired a second round from the door of the residence. The deputies arrived and saw the father of the suspect standing outside near a truck. They exited their patrol units and approached the father. As the deputies drew closer, the son stepped out of the house with a 12-gauge shotgun and fired a round toward the ground near the tire of a second vehicle parked in the driveway. The deputies and the father took cover behind the truck. The deputies ordered the suspect to drop his weapon and instructed the father to move to a safer location away from the residence. The suspect opened the main front door, but left the storm door closed. While the deputies were focused on the front door, the suspect fired a round toward them from the home’s front window. A round from the shotgun struck the victim deputy, who was wearing body armor, in the side of his head. The deputies reported the situation to dispatch and requested backup. Multiple officers responded to the scene and, using a police vehicle as a rolling barricade, removed the deputies from their position of cover behind the truck. The injured deputy was transported to a local hospital where doctors removed the round from his head. Meanwhile, officers established a perimeter around the suspect’s residence, evacuated nearby homes, and requested assistance from the SWAT team. After several hours of negotiations and the use of tear gas, the suspect exited the residence and surrendered to SWAT team members at 12:30 a.m. on April 27. The 37-year-old suspect was taken into custody and charged with Attempted Murder and Causing Bodily Injury to a Law Enforcement Officer/Fire/Rescue Person. He had a prior criminal record including charges for a police assault and drug law violation. The wounded deputy recovered from his injury and has since returned to duty.
